Tài liệu How to teach adults like a pro

CONTENTS HOW TO TEACH ADULTS 3 HOW-TO: Speak Up! Sure-fire Ways to Help Teens and Adults Overcome Shyness 4-5 TIPS & TRICKS: 15 Tricks to Get Your Adult Learners Talking 6 MUST READ: Adults And Children: The Differences Every Teacher Should Know 16 WHAT THEY WANT: What Adult Learners Want: Know Them To Teach Them Better 17 HOW-TO: How to Teach English to Beginners 31 WHAT THEY KNOW: Expert Sharing: Making the Most of Your Students’ Knowledge 20 STRATEGIES: 5 Strategies for Teaching the Beginning ESL Student 32 HOW-TO: How to Teach Current Events to ESL Students 21 MUST READ: Top 8 Tips on Teaching Absolute Beginners 33 MUST READ: 7 Terrific Telephone English Activities for Adult ESL Learners WHY: Why Adults Are Learning English (and How You Can Help Them) 8 HOMEWORK: Adult ESL Learners: Homework Assignments That Work 22 HOW-TO: How to Teach the Verb “To Be” to Beginners 9-10 MUST READ: Classroom Management for the Adult (and Not So Adult) ESL Student 23-24 HOW-TO: How to Teach Present Simple to Complete Beginners 11 SEASONAL: How to Teach a Christmas Lesson Adult Learners Will Never Forget 25 ERROR CORRECTION: 5 Non-Verbal Ways to Do Error Correction 13-14 HOW-TO: Teaching Adults How-To: Advantages and Challenges 15 WHAT THEY KNOW: Teaching Adults: They Know More Than They Tell 30 OLDER LEARNERS: What Every Teacher Should Know about Reaching Older Learners 18-19 MUST READ: 15 Secrets to Teaching Adults 7 12 ATTENDANCE: Teaching Adult Learners: How To Handle Attendance Problems to the Seven Different Learning Styles 26 MUST READ: 7 Best Ways to End a Lesson 27 MUST READ: 9 FiveMinute Activities That Will Save Your Lesson One Day (And Maybe Your Reputation, Too) 28 HOW-TO: How to Teach Using Gestures and Mime 29 LEARNING STYLES: See it, Hear it, Do it: ESL Activities to Teach 34 HOW-TO: Getting to First Base: Teaching Resumes and Cover Letters 35 MUST READ: From ESL Zero to Hero: How to Teach Absolute Beginners 36 CULTURES: Addressing Cultural Conflict in the ESL Classroom 37-38 ETHICS: The 10 Commandments of the Ethical ESL Teacher Sure-fire Ways to Help Teens and Adults Overcome Shyness “Maria sits in the ESL classroom and understands most of what her teacher and classmates say. In fact, she knows most of the answers to her teacher’s questions. But she never raises her hand. Just the thought of speaking out loud in front the class fills her with anxiety and fear.” Maria sounds just like some of the teen and adult students you may have had over the years, if you are an experienced teacher. But even the most seasoned teachers may have a hard time drawing out shy students and getting them to do what they signed up to do: SPEAK English. Whether it’s just first day jitters, occasional shyness, or more of a chronic problem, here are some ways in which you can help your shy students overcome their fear of speaking in class: HELP Your Students Overcome The Fear Of Speaking 1 STRUCTURED SPEAKING TASKS WITH CLEAR DIRECTIONS Some students are not exactly shy by nature but simply have no idea what to say or where to start. While their classmates use trial and error, they prefer to stay quiet and not risk embarrassment. One great way to help them overcome this fear of embarrassment is to provide speaking tasks with a structure and defined guidelines. When assigning role plays, for example: 1. Don’t leave the roles wide open: Student A is check- ing in at a hotel. Student B is the hotel desk clerk. Some students may not know how to begin or what exactly is expected of them. 2. Do provide clear guidelines: Student A is checking in at a hotel. You have reserved a double room for 7 nights and you specifically requested a room with an ocean view. Student B is the hotel desk clerk. You can’t find a reservation under Student A’s name. You give your guest another room, but one that has no external view The more specific your instructions are, the easier it will be for shy students to participate, as they will have the structure they need to feel more confident. 2 USE THEIR INTERESTS TO DRAW THEM OUT It happens again and again. You have a shy teen in class, but as soon as you mention their favorite book series, like the Harry Potter or Twilight books or movies, or popular TV shows, pop stars, anything that teens are really into these days, their eyes light up. You see they want to participate in the discussion, and it’s hard at first, but then they open up. Why? Because it’s a topic they are passionate about. The same happens with adults. Adult learners are often self-conscious and insecure about their speaking skills or pronunciation. But as soon as you ask them to talk about something they are passionate or feel confident about, there’s no holding them back. Some topics that usually spark more enthusiasm in students are: • Trips, exotic destinations, travel experiences, etc. • Hobbies • Music • Books • Sports • Special skills or abilities (flying planes, painting, sculpting, playing a musical instrument, etc.) 3 BE SILLY AND HAVE FUN! If the entire class is doing something silly, shy students have no reason to be self-conscious. Some great ways to introduce silliness into the ESL classroom (and practice English speaking skills at the same time) is with tongue twisters. These work great with adults, too! Pick a tongue twister based on a consonant or vowel sound you want to practice. Then you say it as fast as you can. Students will see that you’re being silly and don’t care what they think. Students will follow suit, even shy ones. 4 NEVER, EVER, ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR SHYNESS You know they’re shy. They know it. Their classmates certainly notice it. But never, under any circumstances acknowledge their shyness, or that they are different in any way. Every student in your class is there for a reason, and this reason is to learn English. Period. If you set shy students apart in some way, you’ll be doing them a disservice. They won’t accomplish their language learning goals. Create a friendly, open environment, one in which a shy student feels that it’s ok to make mistakes, that it’s all right if you don’t have the perfect pronunciation. The important thing is to simply speak. SO, IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO ONE THING. SELF-CONFIDENCE. Which is something shy students often lack. Allow them to talk about things they know a great deal about and don’t put them on the spot by making them talk about something they know nothing about. Give them speaking tasks with guidelines they can follow. But above all, give them an environment where they can express themselves freely, with no pressure. 3 15 Tricks to Get Your Adult Learners Talking AT THE VERY BASE OF IT, THE WHOLE POINT OF KNOWING A LANGUAGE IS TO SPEAK IT, READ IT AND BE ABLE TO WRITE IT. BUT SPEAKING IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FORM. When language first evolved, people originally spoke. The written word is, in historical terms, only a very recent invention and there have been thousands of languages before which were never written down. Knowing the correct grammar forms, how to read it and theoretically how to form sentences is all well and good, but the English language is no use to someone if they are unable to speak it. It is important, therefore, to get one’s students talking in every possible situation. Some teaching methods have two things which are known as Teacher Talking Time and Student Talking Time (TTT and STT). When one sets out to teach a class, the ultimate goal is to help them speak English better than they have before. Theoretically it should work out thus: the teacher does most of the talking in the beginning, but this quickly ceases to the point of where the students are speaking at the end. One knows that the class is a definite success when students are chatting amongst themselves in English. Below is a list of interesting tips and tricks which will help one to encourage their adult learners to speak more during class. HOW TO Get Your Adult Learners Talking: 15 Tricks You Should Try 1 DISTRIBUTE QUESTIONS This is a very simple method. After a reading exercise, one will generally ask students about the text at hand. Sometimes it can be tempting to ask everyone generally, but a great way to get specific people to speak (particularly those who are quite shy) 4 is to single them out and ask the question. This might seem simple, but it is something many teachers forget. 2 ROLE PLAYS It cannot be stated enough how important a role play is within the world of language teaching. Practical language use is practised within these exercises, and therefore it will allow the students to use what they know in a more creative manner. These can generally be quite a lot of fun. 3 FIND AN INTERESTING TOPIC Getting a topic which is somewhat controversial might do well to stimulate debate in the classroom. An example would be if one were speaking about, say, immigration, some people might be interested in speaking their mind about this particular topic. Be careful, however, as sometimes one might touch on a sore or sensitive point, so monitor what kind of materials are used in class. 4 ASK THEM ABOUT THEMSELVES Everybody enjoys speaking about themselves. If one is teaching a business class, then this will undoubtedly be a great opportunity to inquire as to what job everybody does. Maybe you could go around the room and question everybody in turn about their role and responsibilities. Since people enjoy speaking about themselves in general, you will get a lot more conversation from them this way. 5 ENCOURAGE THEM TO ASK QUESTIONS Try and encourage students to ask questions about various topics themselves. For example, one might say, ticular verb form is correct, and instil in the students that asking questions will lead to better proficiency within the language. 6 TEACHING PRONUNCIATION Sometimes, depending on where you are teaching, students may not be pronouncing certain words in a correct manner. Different languages have different phonetics, therefore one needs to be sure that the students can speak in a way that is as close as possible to that of a native speaker. Pronunciation classes can also be a lot of fun. 7 DEBATES Holding a debate in class is a great way of getting the students to talk a bit more. Sometimes the topics can become somewhat heated, and this will encourage them to use their newly acquired skills more creatively. 8 NEWS STORY Similar in the way to a debate, discussion over a particular topic of current news will allow students to express their views. This may not work for all students, of course, so it is important to ask them. 9 TURN TO YOUR NEIGHBOUR Probably one of the oldest methods. Students who split up into pairs find that they are obliged to talk. In order to ensure this, keep walking around the class until the end of the exercise and make sure that everyone is speaking. 10 TAKE A CLASS POLL Ask a question about a particular topic and take a poll. An example could be, “And why do you think Sonia did this..?” “Should the government fund student tuition?” Usually directing it at a person will help. Ask them why they think a par- Students can then air their views and discuss them. 11 EYE CONTACT If a student is particularly stubborn, a good idea would be to keep eye contact until they say something. This usually makes them feel uncomfortable and that they are obliged to speak. It works wonders for most students. 12 NAME SAYING When asking questions, for example about a text, be sure to say the name of a particular student. This way they will know that you are addressing them and will have to reply accordingly. Do this on students who happen to be shy and don’t speak much in class. It will give them an opportunity to speak which they can’t refuse. 13 WHAT DO YOU THINK..? Similar to the previous one, every now and then stop when reading an article if an important issue is raised and ask the students’ opinions on it. 14 EXPLAIN TO ME… Trying to get the student to explain a particular topic you have just explained will set the wheels in their head in motion. Of course, one can help them along, but it is important to make sure that the student does most of the talk. 15 SUMMARISE. Finally, a really good way is to get the students to summarise a particular topic in their own words. This may be a challenge for beginners, but overall is can help in their practise of speaking. THERE ARE OF COURSE MANY MORE TIPS AND TRICKS WHICH ARE GOING TO HELP STUDENTS TO OVERCOME THEIR SHYNESS. SOMETIMES THEY NEED TO BE BROUGHT OUT IN FRONT OF THE CLASS IN ORDER TO BOOST THEIR CONFIDENCE. Always remember to correct, and instil in them that correction does not mean they failed. Mistakes are important, as they help us learn and move on. 5 Adults And Children: The Differences Every Teacher Should Know TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE CAN OFTEN BE AN EXCITING CAREER FOR MANY. Whether you are choosing to do it on a gap year, or as a full time career, you are likely to come across a wide range of different people. Sometimes we may be required to teach children, even though we do not have experience in the area. Some language schools will give a mix of students. There will be those there who are looking to improve their English for general use. There will be those who are looking specifically for business English whilst others simply want to progress. It is important to garner, in the first class, what the actual intentions of the student are before going ahead with the plan. This way, you will find it easier to tailor a class to the specific needs of that student. Before going ahead, however, you need to remember that adults, children and indeed teenagers are all different. Children learn in different ways to their older counterparts. As a result, you need to be able to make sure what to include in certain classes and what to leave out. THE DIFFERENCES Between Adults & Children You Should Know 1 CHILDREN AND LEARNING One of the first things you should remember about kids is that their brains have more elasticity than those of adults. You could say that their brains are not “formed” yet, so to speak. As a result, it is easier for children to learn a new language. Try to remember your own personal experience, if you know a foreign language. If you learned it at the age of 7-10, learning new words most likely came easier to you, and you probably found yourself understanding simple phrases quite easily. However, as we become older, taking on a new language becomes a lot more difficult. 6 2 GAMES, STORY-TELLING AND MORE It is also important to include age appropriate materials in your classes. For example, children are not going to be interested in reading articles about the state of the economy, or even the fashion industry. In fact, most kids generally won’t like reading articles at all! Other techniques need to be employed. Games: Both adults and children love games. Therefore it is important to include these as much as possible in the class. In doing this, the teacher will be able to let words sink in easier. Often they can include games such as Hang Man, Pictionary, Simon Says and much more. Story Telling: This is another effective technique. All children love story time. Find a simple fairy tale to tell the children, or make one up yourself! Afterwards, ask questions by putting the characters in different situations (“Sal- ly’s grandmother is ill, what should Sally do?”). This way, kids can come up with their own answers. Effectively, you will be able to get the children to write their own stories. This can be incredibly beneficial in terms of their production skills. Attention Spans: Children also tend to have short attention spans, so it is important for you to realize this. Long, drawn-out exercises which involve a lot of silence will not work. The kids will become agitated, start fidgeting and lose interest. Keep them engaged at all times. Posing questions, getting everyone involved in the exercise, and generally keeping them on their toes is always a good idea and can prove very effective. 3 ADULTS AND LEARNING For older people, learning a language can be a challenge. There are some who do this professionally for translator jobs, and will generally have a gift for this. But for many adult learners, this is going to be new territory. Specifically when it comes to learning English, many might have had previous instruction in school as children. This is particularly true of those who live in Western European countries. 4 TOPICS OF INTEREST, HUMOUR AND ACTIVITIES Keeping adults engaged is just as important as doing so with children! You might find that there are some students who are intent on learning, and will do their best to concentrate. This may not always be the case, therefore it is important to keep the class as interesting as possible. Activities: Games are possible option for adults as well. A lot of the time, they might have be tailored to suit adults. More “grown up” type games and activities will be useful in this regard. Debates are often a great way to get adults talking. Often, the students will end up speaking more and arguments can break out. As long as it does not get out of hand, this can be incredibly positive. The less you have to do, the more of a success the class is! Humour: It is also a good idea to have a sense of humour. Just be aware how humour translates in different cultures. In Germany, for example, the people are notorious for being humourless. This isn’t necessarily the case, as it can differ from one region to the next. Topics of Interest: If you are teaching business people, then topics related to what they are doing (for example, someone who works with pressured air) will probably spark up the students’ interests a bit more. The Internet is a wonderful resource in this sense, and you can find information on almost anything with the click of a mouse. Remember, most adults will also like to take a logical approach, but overall with both children and older students, using the language in a practical way is the most beneficial method. Why Adults Are Learning English (and How You Can Help Them) Adult English as a second language learners are a unique collection of students. They do not take English simply to meet an institutional requirement or check something off their transcripts. They study English for their own purposes, to meet their own goals, and for personal reasons which influence what they expect from their teachers. For the most part, adults study ESL for one of three general reasons, and for each reason there are ways you can tailor your classes to help your students have the best ESL experience possible. Therefore, whether the purpose your students study is academic, business or personal, you can design your class to meet their specific needs. WHY Adults Are Learning English & HOW You Can Help Them 1 PREPARATION FOR ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENTS The majority of adult ESL students come to the United States in pursuit of higher education. Whether they are planning on simply attending university or plan to move onto more complex academic pursuits, like law school or medical school, students of English for academic purposes have specific needs. They are looking to language as a means to an end. Sometimes schools require them to take ESL classes. Other times, they study the language in hopes of a higher TOEFL score. If your students fall into this population, make sure you design a class that will prepare them for future academic requirements. Test taking will be an important topic to cover in class. You should give them experience with different types of testing and assessment as well as different instructional styles. The more often you bring guest speakers into the classroom, the more it will benefit your students since they will be exposed to many different educators in their futures. As for your relation- ship with them, keep it personal and encouraging. Help them understand appropriate interaction between a student and teacher in the U.S. Be a mentor to these students as many of them will return to you for encouragement or advice in future semesters. Be realistic when assigning homework, but be serious when you grade. You will not help these students by allowing them to sail through English classes. In fact, you will actually hurt them and may cause them to lose money if they have to retake required courses later in their studies! 2 FOR USE IN BUSINESS Less common than students learning English for academic purposes but still quite common are ESL students who study for business reasons. Whether they work for an international company or are looking to do future business in the U.S., business English students will want real, practical and purposeful English language instruction. While there is always benefit to be gained from traditional teaching methods and materials, business English students will appreciate hands on and practical uses for English. You should use as many authentic materials as your students can handle, and put them in realistic situations to practice language. Rather than staging a debate, for example, ask students to negotiate a contract. Instead of reading a novel, read a simple but fun business book (Who Moved My Cheese for example). Assign a business letter to your writing class rather than an essay. These practical assignments will prepare students for how they will be expected to use their language skills. In your language instruction, do not neglect to teach cultural expectations and appropriate behavior for business settings. You may need to teach your students how to give a good handshake and what is considered appropriate business dress. By using English in real settings with typical expectations, your students will be ready to put their language skills to the test in the real world. Keep your relationship with your students professional, thinking of them as colleagues rather than students. Make sure that everything you do in class has a purpose and a practical application in the real world. 3 FOR PERSONAL REASONS Even though most of your students will be studying English for academic or business purposes, there are sure to be a few who are studying for purely personal reasons. For some, overseas English classes will be like a vacation, a way to see the world and learn something in the process. Others may be studying to keep a visa current or to stay in the country legally. They may even already have superior language skills. For these students, a casual class with fun as a main ingredient will be most engaging. Keep homework on the low side and make sure class includes lots of discussion and creative activities. This does not mean that you should fail to take class seriously, but putting too strenuous expectations on this minority group will only frustrate them as well as you. Get out of the classroom whenever you can to take a field trip or learn in real life settings. If you plan social activities, include day trips and short travels that will be fun for your students. Nurture a friendship with your students and have fun together. Some of these students may just turn out to be your lifelong friends! AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE IS A GREAT VARIETY IN THE REASONS ADULTS STUDY ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE. Each population has specific goals and desires, and the best teachers will want to teach to their students’ purposes. For classes where you have all three kinds of students, and that often happens, do your best to meet the specific needs of each student and try not to get frustrated if some students tend to disengage. You can only do so much in one class, but keeping your students’ needs and intentions in mind will help you reach all of them the best way you can. 7 Adult ESL Learners: Homework Assignments That Work ADULT ESL LEARNERS MAY NOT HAVE A LOT OF TIME OUTSIDE OF CLASS TO DEVOTE TO THEIR ENGLISH STUDIES BUT ASSIGNING HOMEWORK ONCE IN A WHILE CAN BE BENEFICIAL. Having students complete exercises at home allows them to maximize their speaking time during class periods. Since adults are often very busy, it is important to assign homework only when you feel it is necessary. TRY These Homework Assignment Ideas 1 This type of homework activity really makes the most of the time you have with students and gives them an opportunity to think about the material before having to discuss it. USE THEIR IMAGINATION! This activity is especially good for students of Business English but could also be used in other lessons to focus on giving advice, voicing an opinion, or politely agreeing or disagreeing. Give students a dialogue to read and ask them to think about the different characters. These dialogues could be based on work, school, or personal interactions. In the next class, discuss students’ opinions of the characters from the dialogue and give students some options for what the next part 8 In the next class you can talk about the appropriateness of this conversation, what students think of the two characters, and what the other character should say next. 3 ‘INTERVIEW YOUR GRANNY ABOUT …’ READING TEXTS AS HOMEWORK? WHY NOT? Simple interview activities can be For discussion lessons, send students home with the reading assignment instead of setting aside time for them to read it silently in class. You should introduce key vocabulary beforehand and give students some topics or questions to think about during their reading so that they will know what to focus on. You can then do some pronunciation practice and comprehension checks in the next lesson. A discussion could also be based on the material students read. 2 of the dialogue could be. Ask students to defend their choices. For instance, give students a conversation in which two colleagues are discussing Employee C and end the material you give them for homework with one person complaining that Employee C did not deserve to get a promotion. done with students of all ages. For this activity, ask students to interview family members or friends. This is especially good practice for using reported speech but can be used to talk about other topics too. You can provide students with some basic questions to give their interview some structure and have them build on it using their own questions. In the next lesson, students can report their findings and discuss the material with the rest of the class. 4 ROLE PLAYS FOR HOMEWORK ARE FUN, TOO Adult learners are generally more reluctant than younger students to do role plays but if you think your class would be willing to give it a try, sections of the activity can be assigned as homework. Students will have to work together in class if you want them to develop their own scripts but they can practice and memorize their lines as homework. Since students may not be able to meet one another outside of class, be sure to give students some time to practice together in their groups before the final presentation. You must allow enough time for students to prepare for the role play so spread it out over several weeks. Remember that you do not have to make it the focus of all your lessons from the time it was introduced until its completion. Introduce the activity in one lesson, check to see if students have any questions about it in each class period after that, give them time to practice, and finally have students present their role plays. 5 WORKSHEETS WORK WONDERS Some worksheets may also be appropriate for homework. If there is an exam coming up, students may appreciate optional study material for further practice. While crosswords are not a great use of class time for adult learners, providing students with an occasional crossword for homework may be fine. They are enjoyable and do not take long periods of undivided attention to complete: in fact, crosswords can be done gradually in free time such as during the commute to work. They are good practice material because they focus on checking vocabulary comprehension or expanding vocabulary - both of which are very important to adults. WHILE ADULT LEARNERS MAY HAVE LESS TIME THAN YOUNGER STUDENTS FOR HOMEWORK, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THEY DEVOTE TIME TO THEIR STUDIES IN ORDER TO MAKE PROGRESS. Talk to students at the beginning of the course about what they expect in regards to homework and ensure that you always give students plenty of time to complete exercises. Classroom Management for the Adult (and Not So Adult) ESL Student If you tell other teachers what you do, - and if that is teaching ESL students at the college level, they exclaim, “Oh, that must be great! You don’t have any classroom management issues. Because your students really want to learn.” Well, yes and no, you instantly think. It is a great job, indeed. And adult ESL students rarely have classroom management issues like throwing spit wads and shoving each other—they do, however, make and receive cell phone calls during class and update their Facebook profiles. ESL students, like students in general, come to the classroom for a variety of reasons, intrinsic love of learning is probably not primary among them in most cases. This is complicated by divergent notions of what is appropriate classroom behavior — not only from what students were taught in their past education experiences but also from instructor to instructor on the same campus. One instructor may not be bothered by the student text-messaging under the desk — or at least, not say so — while another may come unhinged. So how does the teacher manage the classroom under such circumstances? CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT for the Adult ESL Student 1 GET IT IN WRITING: PUT EXPECTATIONS IN SYLLABUS If you are really bothered by use of cell phones and other electronics during class time, say so in the syllabus. If you’d really prefer students spend the majority of time speaking English in class, rather than breaking into discussion groups in their primary languages, say that as well, and give a reason. 2 HAVE A PLAN Have a plan. Break course objectives down and have a plan for the semester, week, and day. If students are busy doing relevant work, there is less chance they will become classroom management concerns. 3 TRANSPARENCY IS THE KEY Make your plan transparent. Put the day’s or week’s or semester’s plan on the board or class website so students know what they should be doing moment to moment. 4 HAVE A CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT PLAN, TOO Also have a classroom management plan in place, whether it is in your head or in writing. But think through what you would do in certain situations: what you would do if you find a student had plagiarized her paper or what you would do if a student could not seem to stop talking through your lectures. 5 VARY GROUPING STRATEGIES Students tend to get bored when in one activity or grouping for too long. If you have done a teacher-fronted, whole-class activity for ten minutes, you could notice that often your students begin to drift and to hold side conversations. This is a sign that it’s time to vary the instruction, to break students into small groups for further practice. Usually once the activity has changed, the negative behavior disappears. 6 DISCUSS IT IN PRIVATE Although classes as a whole tend to have a specific “climate,” and often it’s the case an entire class is just difficult to manage, sometimes there is an individual student with problematic behavior, such as consistently (and disruptively) arriving late. If behavior like this develops in one student, it’s usually best to meet with the student privately and discuss the situation. Often the student is unaware that there is a problem and is very apologetic and promises to improve. Other times the student knows the behavior is a problem, but it is rooted in some other academic or personal concern, like loss of transportation or simple misunderstanding of how important it is to be on time in a classroom. The teacher can discuss the situation with the student, and often the problem can be solved with one meeting. 7 BE POLITE BUT DIRECT Be polite but direct about what you want students to do or not do. If you are bothered by a student bringing food and drink into class and loudly consuming it throughout the class, it is all right to tell the student -- privately, so the student isn’t embarrassed -but usually students who demonstrate inappropriate behavior like this are not going to pick up on subtle hints that their behavior is inappropriate, so being direct is necessary. 8 DON’T LET THEM CROSS THE LINE It is rare but not unheard of that student behavior can cross the line from merely inappropriate and annoying to alarming, especially if there are suspected drug abuse or mental health concerns. For example, a number of years ago, an immigrant student who had acted a little odd all semester, enough so that most of the other students avoided 9 him, was in my ESL class. One day, when apparently upset over his failing grade, he came into my office, shut the door, and asked, “Do you love your husband?” Startled, I replied simply that I did. He then asked, “If you love your hus- band, why don’t you love your students?” The behavior of shutting the door and then the bizarre dialogue was enough to alarm me into dropping a note to my dean, who I think must have then had the student into his office for a stern conversation because the student disappeared from the program shortly after. Of course in most cases, this is not the outcome we would wish, but in reality not all students are able to benefit from all educational settings. 9 LAST RESORT Involve authorities as needed. Although ideally instructors should develop the skills to deal with the vast majority of classroom management issues within their own classes, it is all right in certain circumstances to involve higher authorities — sometimes the police, if you feel your immediate safety is in jeopardy. Although it is rare, sometimes student behavior warrants intervention from others. Instructors should have on hand the phone numbers of their dean, campus security, and the police to be notified depending the level of behavior: a case of repeated plagiarism should be referred to the dean, for example, while calls to security or the police should be reserved for threats to property or personal safety. YES, CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT IS A CHALLENGE, AND MOST CLASSES DO NOT MAGICALLY ORGANIZE THEMSELVES INTO ACTIVE AND RESPECTFUL GROUPS OF STUDENTS—NOT EVEN CLASSES OF ADULTS, NOT EVEN ESL STUDENTS. This requires the hard work of a teacher. However, the well-conducted class can be achieved with planning, varying grouping, being direct, and involving others when needed. 10 How to Teach a Christmas Lesson Adult Learners Will Never Forget CHRISTMAS IS A HOLIDAY THAT ADULTS ENJOY AS MUCH AS CHILDREN. The preparations, the shopping for gifts, the cooking, and the singing is not hard for a grown-up to get into the spirit of Christmas. So, with this in mind, why not give your adult ESL learners a Christmas lesson they’ll never forget? This is a great opportunity for students who come from different backgrounds to share things about their culture and learn from others. It’s also a wonderful way to practice all four skills: reading, listening, speaking, and writing. HOW TO PROCEED 1 TALK ABOUT WHAT WE USUALLY DO TO CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS Ask students what they usually do during the holiday season, how they prepare for Christmas, and what they do on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. If you have students from different countries, ask them what they will be doing for Christmas this year. Will they be doing anything differently? Will they try out something new? What do they usually do in their country of origin? 2 TALK ABOUT CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS AROUND THE WORLD Ask students who are familiar with other customs to tell the class about them. Do they know about Christmas celebrations in other countries? Which countries? Are they very different from typical North-American or European customs? Has anyone ever been to a South American country for Christmas? Or any country where it was hot, and there was no snow for Christmas? Take as long as you want, but make sure students are fully engaged in the discussion. 3 READ ABOUT CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS AROUND THE WORLD There are a lot of websites where you can get this information, but Santa’s Net has a wonderful collection of traditions from around the world. Choose a few and print them out for your class, or have them read the pages directly on a computer or laptop. Don’t forget to introduce key vocabulary before reading. At BusyTeacher.org, we have some great worksheets in our Christmas section, like the Christmas Traditions around the World worksheet and the Christmas Traditions Quiz, which are great post-reading activities. 4 WATCH A CHRISTMAS VIDEO Now that your students are more familiar with Christmas vocabulary and traditions, they should be ready to watch a Christmas video! Choose one that is appropriate to your students’ level. Highly recommended for upper-intermediate to advanced students is The History Channel’s Christmas Un- wrapped: The Truth about Christmas, a fascinating documentary about the true origins of many modern day Christmas symbols and customs. At FanPop.com you can watch all five parts of the video, but the first 10 minutes gives you plenty of information to work with. There are also several other videos to choose from. Don’t forget to provide short pre-viewing, viewing, and post-viewing activities. 5 GIVE THEM A SPEAKING TASK 6 GIVE THEM A WRITING ASSIGNMENT Here are some suggestions for Christmas writing assignments, which you may adapt to your students’ level: • Give them writing prompts to begin a Christmas story: “Sally took the last batch of gingerbread cookies from the oven. Suddenly,...” etc. • Give them an essay topic “Is Christ- mas more about shopping than the birth of Jesus these days? Describe a Christmas memory from your childhood... What is Christmas really about? “ Assign the writing task for homework if you’re short on time. 7 WRAP UP THE LESSON WITH A CHRISTMAS CAROL! Choose any Christmas carol or song where several typical Christmas traditions and activities are mentioned, like making a snowman, riding sleighs, roasting chestnuts, etc. Ask students to listen to the song and identify which of these activities or traditions are mentioned. EVERYONE KNOWS IT’S EASY TO PLAN A CHRISTMAS LESSON WITH KIDS, BUT DON’T LEAVE YOUR ADULT ESL LEARNERS OUT OF THE HOLIDAY FUN! THEY MAY NOT HAVE COLORING PAGES, CRAFTS, OR CROSSWORD PUZZLES, BUT THEY’LL ENJOY THEIR CHRISTMAS LESSON JUST THE SAME! The speaking task should relate to the video they’ve just watched. Give them roles to play out: One student could be a famous historian and another the interviewer who asks questions about the origins of some Christmas traditions, or one student could be travelling to a foreign country and another student offers information on how Christmas is celebrated there. 11 Teaching Adult Learners: How To Handle Attendance Problems WITH ADULT LEARNERS, TEACHERS FACE A UNIQUE SET OF CHALLENGES. UNLIKE WITH YOUNGER STUDENTS, DISCIPLINE AND MOTIVATION ARE GENERALLY NOT A PROBLEM. FOR ADULT CLASSES ONE OF THE MAJOR CONCERNS IS ATTENDANCE. Adults will often have a lot of commitments: family and work demand the majority of their time and English classes are not always a priority. While you cannot demand that all your students attend class all the time, there are some things you can do to help maintain the flow of the course. DO’S AND DONT’S 1 DO: BE PUNCTUAL Once you have met several times, you will have some idea of who might miss classes more often than others. Regardless of the size of your class, it is important to start on time so that other students do not feel like they are wasting their time. constructive feedback and corrections but providing a letter grade is almost meaningless. 3 DO: BE SYMPATHETIC Understand that students have lives outside of class and that certain things are definitely more important than learning English. There are probably times in the past where you have had to skip class because of work, an illness, or a family emergency so it is only fair to be considerate when students say they will not be able to make it to class. Some things such as business trips will not even be in their control so you cannot blame them for absences related to certain activities or events. 4 DON’T: LECTURE Telling students over and over again the importance of attending class is also not going to make a huge difference in attendance. By starting on time you will also show latecomers that the class does not revolve around them. Make it clear that latecomers will have to catch up by looking at another student’s notes or the notes on the board. This way you will not need to repeat your first couple minutes of class whenever another students walks in. Obviously students know they should attend lessons but repeatedly telling them that is unlikely to improve the situation and will only waste even more class time. Often this type of lecturing will feel more like punishment to the students who attend regularly and arrive on time than to those people who come late or miss lessons. 2 5 DON’T: GRADES Adult learners are less interested in their grade thus making participation a large percent of it will not encourage students to attend. For younger students grades are important because they affect things such as college applications and job opportunities but giving an adult student a low grade will not affect much besides his confidence and willingness to participate in activities. In adult classes, you do not have to give overall grades if you would rather not. It is important to give students 12 DO: HELP You should help students catch up after missing a class so that you will not have to review all the material you covered in the previous lesson. You can create study material by organizing notes for each lesson. Try not to spend too much time on this. Fleshing out your lesson plan should be sufficient. Email this to students who do not attend class to help them understand the material they missed. You can also encourage students to buddy up so that if one of them misses class, the other can share his or her notes. 6 DON’T: GET FRUSTRATED It can be extremely frustrating when students skip class week after week. The best thing you can do is stay positive about the situation and devote extra attention to the learners who do attend. If you are frustrated during lessons, it will have a negative impact on your students because you are not performing your best and it could affect their moods too. 7 DO: ADVISE Perhaps the class is too easy or hard for students missing class so they are uninterested in the material you are discussing. The class could also just meet at a particularly inconvenient time. If a student misses class regularly, you might want to suggest he switch to another class or consider one-on-one lessons. You can explain that missing class means that he is not getting the full benefit of taking the course and will not improve as rapidly. Luckily if you are teaching one-on-one classes, attendance will not affect other students so while it can still be frustrating for you, you can simply save the material you prepared for another lesson. Adult learners can be a pleasure to work with but one of the downsides you are likely to face is having students repeatedly miss class due to conflicts with other commitments. IF THIS HAPPENS IN YOUR ADULT CLASSES, CONTINUE TO TEACH LESSONS AS PLANNED AND DO YOUR BEST TO HELP STUDENTS CATCH UP WHEN NECESSARY. While attendance issues can be frustrating, there are definitely ways you can deal with them so that everyone can still get the most out of the course. Teaching Adults How-To: Advantages and Challenges TEACHING ADULT LEARNERS CAN BE VERY REWARDING, BUT VERY CHALLENGING AS WELL. We mustn’t forget we’re dealing with individuals who have their own lives outside of school, some with very busy schedules. But adult learners are also better equipped for dialogue and exchange. They come to class with a set of tools and information that can be of great use to us. On the one hand we present the advantages that come with teaching adult learners and the way you, as an ESL teacher can maximize their great potential for learning. And on the other hand, we examine the challenges we face and suggest some ways to overcome them. ADVANTAGES Of The Teaching Adults A UTONOMOUS LEARNERS When we teach English to adults, we’re dealing with individuals who, to a greater or lesser degree, have a set of study skills, acquired in their previous schooling. At the very least, they possess writing, summarizing, and note-taking skills. They know perfectly well what it’s like to attend classes, and the greater their commitment to their learning, the more organized they are, and the more skills they are willing to deploy. How do we fully take advantage of their previously acquired study skills? Ask them to produce a summary of a video seen in class, or a reading assignment. Encourage them to prepare charts or graphs. Feel free to assign more challenging types of homework assignments, not necessarily more time-consuming, as most adults learners don’t have a great deal of free time on their hands, but they may handle more mentally-challenging exercises. They may even make a Power Point presentation for their final examination. Never underestimate them. credible amount of knowledge and experience they can bring to class. The first characteristic of adult learners you should learn is that they are not children, and they don’t need help with their homework. M OTIVATED INDIVIDUALS Most adults who enroll in English courses, do so of their own volition. This is another characteristic of adult learners. Their needs may vary, but the fact of the matter is they feel an interest in learning, a need, sometimes even an urgency to study English. Some need to improve their English communication skills to do business or have better chances of advancement in their careers. Others want to travel to English-speaking countries and want to get around on their own. Others still, simply enjoy it, or studied it when they were kids and want to take their English to the next level. Even those who are “forced” to study due to circumstances like relocation to an English-speaking country have a specific reason to learn, and a goal that will motivate them to learn. How can we take advantage of their motivation to learn? Although your students may have the initial motivation to enroll in classes, it may vanish into thin air if they suddenly face activities and tasks that don’t inspire them to learn. To effectively motivate them, simply consider their goals. Do they want to learn English to do business? Plan activities that specifically cater to this goal, like job interviews, business realia, or business email writing. Are they learning just for fun? Provide a variety of activities that will keep them engaged, like videos, games, or even field trips. A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE One of the greatest advantages of teaching adult learners is the in- We mustn’t forget that although they may know little English, they most likely know a great deal about something else, whether it is their professional area of expertise or simply a hobby, and these may be things you know nothing about. Some of this knowledge may be highly specialized or industry-related (pharmaceuticals, marketing, manufacturing) or basic knowledge of things you have no experience in like cars, sports, crafts, maybe even other languages. How can we tap into this wealth of knowledge? It’s as easy as asking your adult students to talk about what they know about. For example, a beginner who is really into cars can make comparisons: A Mercedes is more expen- sive/faster/more efficient than a Ford. An advanced student can give a presentation on marketing basics for the rest of the class. If you’re teaching business English to adults, you can practically ask them to teach you everything they know about business! This is why it is absolutely essential that you become very familiar with your students backgrounds and interests. CHALLENGES The Of Teaching Adults: What Adult Learners Want L ACK OF TIME Very few adult learners have tons of free time on their hands. Most have full time jobs and careers, some study, and it’s hard for them to find the time to take an English course, let alone do homework and study after class. How can we overcome this challenge? Rather than excusing them from doing homework or at home activities, give them several, but shorter tasks 13 to do. For instance, instead of giving them something that might take them from 20 to 40 minutes, give them a 5 or 10 minute exercise, but several, so that they may do one a day, in between meetings, or while they’re on their lunch break. Ask them to watch a 5 minute video while they have breakfast and then summarize it. Keep the tasks short and focused. F RUSTRATION Unlike children, adult learners tend to be very self-conscious, particularly about the way they speak and their pronunciation. They also tend to get frustrated more easily. They get discouraged if they think they’ve made little to no progress, especially advanced students who may feel they’ve reached a language plateau, beyond which they can’t progress. Finally, they are also very hard on themselves sometimes, demanding unrealistic things like perfect pronunciation or listening. How can we help them? • First, inform your students on what should be realistic goals. Make sure they’re clear on what the course program is for the year and what they are expected to learn. Also, explain to them that their brains are not as flexible as children’s brains, which makes it practically impossible for them to lose their accent. This does not mean that they can’t improve their pronunciation, but that they’ll always have an accent that is part of who they are. • Secondly, to help them track their progress, end each class with a What have you learned today? They may have learned about a specific topic, a new tense, or a whole new set of vocabulary. But make sure they are aware of this. BY FAR THE BEST THING ABOUT TEACHING ADULT LEARNERS IS THE AMAZING THINGS YOU’LL LEARN FROM THEM. GIVE THEM EVERYTHING THEY NEED TO ADVANCE AND GROW, BUT ALSO BE OPEN TO EVERYTHING THEY’LL SHARE WITH YOU. YOU’LL SEE HOW YOU GROW AS TEACHER TOO! 14 Teaching Adults: They Know More Than They Tell MOST PEOPLE WITHIN THE ESL INDUSTRY WILL KNOW THAT THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TEACHING ADULTS AND TEACHING CHILDREN. It has been proven that children’s minds tend to be more “elastic” in the sense that they can be shaped and moulded quite easily. With this in mind, a lot of teachers use this to their advantage to help the children absorb the language more. Generally, children will pick up language naturally much faster than adults. This isn’t to say, however, that adults aren’t capable of learning either. Many have already been in school and had a go at learning a second language before, so they may be using their own internal methods in order to commit the variety of grammatical rules to memory. HOW TO Teach Adults: Important Things To Keep in Mind 1 ADULT EDUCATION: A DAUNTING EXPERIENCE For a lot of adults, the idea of returning to education can a be somewhat daunting one. A lot of the time, they may not have been in school for a number of years and are now unsure of classroom protocol. Doing tests might worry them just as much as any teenager might be worried about the idea of sitting down to an exam. It is important always to be friendly and smile, let them know that this is nothing to be afraid of. No matter what one is learning, if one is a beginner then there is no shame in making mistakes. Whilst some people will embrace learning the new language fervently, a great deal might find themselves intimidated and simply sit in the class and not contribute. 2 CONTRIBUTION AND IT’S IMPORTANCE It is important for every student to participate in a class, and this couldn’t be more true with regards to language learning. Language isn’t something like history which can be committed to memory through rote learning. Yes, phrases, sentences and words and even grammatical structures can be memorized but they also need to be practised. The old saying “practise makes perfect” holds very true in this regard. People need to learn to get out of their comfort zone and try out new things. One of the best ways of getting people to participate is to design a game or a role play scenario whereby everyone has a line or a piece to say. Not only will this bring them “out of their shell”, so to speak, but it will also help that individual to learn that others might be in the same situation as themselves. 3 ELICITING WORDS Most of us who have gone through teacher training sessions will understand the importance of eliciting words. For those students who have been learning the language for a long time now, they will find that they do indeed know quite a good bit of vocabulary. The trick is trying to get them to reveal this to the rest of the class. 4 EXPERIENCE One of the major points about teaching adults is that they have a huge amount of experience within their specific fields of work or life. As such, they have picked up a lot along the way and those who have been in education for much longer will have a huge amount of experience within the sector. The teacher should then use this to their advantage. A good idea might be to organize a class where different learning methods are discussed, and questions asked about which ones work best for some people. This can also be a good way of finding out what the needs of one’s students are. Furthermore, those who may even be teachers themselves will be able to share their own insight and knowledge. 5 DON’T UNDERESTIMATE It is important for a teacher as well not to underestimate their students. Adults might have already picked up some words and phrases in English from previous experience, this mainly being due to it being one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world at the moment. Keep in mind that one’s students will always have prior learning experience, and this can be a great help to any teacher. Eliciting words is essentially getting them to think of the specific word themselves, rather than the teacher simply writing it down on the board. Doing this will get the mind working, and allow the wheels in their head to start turning. Simply writing a word on the board and having them copy it down won’t allow it to stick. In thinking it up for themselves, it will challenge them to pursue their own knowledge further. 15 What Adult Learners Want: Know Them To Teach Them Better ADULT LEARNERS CAN BE A PLEASURE TO TEACH BECAUSE THEY ARE USUALLY MORE SELF-MOTIVATED THAN OTHER ESL STUDENTS. They often choose to study English to help them in their careers or with other personal goals such as obtaining student visas for English speaking countries. These learners may be more eager than primary and secondary school students because they view English as a global language and are aware of what they can gain by improving their communication skills. GET TO KNOW Your Adult Learners Better 1 KNOW WHAT THEY WANT For adult students, you can often plan your lessons based on what your students’ goals are. If students need to learn English for work, you can introduce business related vocabulary and talk about various work situations. Related topics could include travel, numbers and currency, and casual conversation because these are relevant for business people who use English at work. If students are studying English in order to obtain a particular visa, be aware of what test or tests they will be required to take or what skills they need to demonstrate. This information can be found online and students may already know what their weaknesses are based on previous scores. Advanced adult learners may simply want some regular speaking practice so that they can increase their fluency and range of vocabulary. With beginners, the content of your classes will obviously be more similar to those for younger learners but you can still include specific material to better tailor lessons to fit your students’ needs. The goals of your adult students will dramatically affect your curriculum. 16 2 KNOW HOW THEY BEHAVE Adult learners are often eager to improve their speaking skills. Unlike with younger students, discipline is not a major concern. Some learners may try to shift the course of lessons from the material you have prepared to free discussion. This could happen when students are uninterested in the lesson material so develop creative lesson plans (that’s exactly what BusyTeacher.org is here for!) and talk with students at the beginning of the course about free discussion sessions. Perhaps one class a week or the first ten minutes of class can be devoted to this. Once this is established students may be more willing to focus on the lesson material during other periods. 3 KNOW WHAT TO FOCUS ON As with any other ESL course, the focus needs to be on communication. While encouraging students to speak may be the most important part of classes with younger learners, adult learners are often really enthusiastic about speaking activities so developing their listening skills becomes more important. Especially at the advanced level, students need to be able to introduce their opinions, give advice, and politely agree or disagree so that regular discussions flow smoothly and students do not come across as being inconsiderate or rude in social situations. This is very different from the basic question-and-answer structure that students start off learning as beginners and requires both good speaking skills and active listening skills. Unlike when students read, listening and responding to people requires rapid comprehension of material after only one repetition. It takes a lot of practice for students to do this so be sure to teach them phrases such as “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.” “Can you please repeat the question?” too. or 4 HELP THEM BUILD SELF-CONFIDENCE Beginning adult learners may feel self conscious about their speaking abilities so it is important to build their self confidence through encouragement and by starting out with simple exercises. They will be much less willing than children to sing silly songs or engage in certain activities so plan exercises that appeal to them. A class full of adults may be reluctant to sing “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” but if you are working with beginning level adult students, you can find an alternative method of practicing the same material. Singing songs and other activities may not seem like studying to your adult students so your approach to these classes will have to be different. Create exercises that have a serious, rather than fun, approach based on topics that students are interested in. Also, the content rather than the format of lessons will keep them engaged. WITH ADULT LEARNERS YOU ARE ABLE TO ADDRESS A MUCH WIDER RANGE OF TOPICS BUT ULTIMATELY THE CONTENT OF YOUR COURSE WILL DEPEND A LOT ON WHY YOUR STUDENTS ARE STUDYING ENGLISH AND WHAT THEIR GOALS ARE. WITHOUT HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT DISCIPLINE, YOU WILL HAVE MORE CLASS TIME TO DEVOTE TO IMPORTANT THINGS LIKE LEARNING ENGLISH. How to Teach English to Beginners STUDENTS JUST STARTING THEIR ENGLISH STUDIES RISK BEING OVERWHELMED BY NEW MATERIAL. Showing them that lessons can be fun and that they can perform well is important to get them engaged in and positive about your classes. Your curriculum should be designed with this in mind so be sure to dedicate plenty of time to each section. If students are doing better than expected, simply use the free lesson period to review or better yet, have fun with a cultural lesson or holiday activity. HOW TO PROCEED 1 LESSON MATERIAL Especially with beginners it is important to go slowly. There is a steep learning curve at the very beginning of their studies especially if you are the first to introduce them to the Latin alphabet. Try to introduce manageable chunks of information and do not add in more information until your students are comfortable with what they have already covered. This may mean that they are not able to understand the purpose of learning certain things initially but perhaps after a few lessons on a topic, you can help put it all together and then they will be amazed at how much they have learned. For example, in one lesson you may teach your students the words I, you, he/she/it and what they mean but they cannot make sentences with this vocabulary until you give them some verbs to work with which may not be appropriate until a later lesson. 2 TEACHER TALKING In the classroom you will also have to slow down your talking speed. Students are never going to understand you if you are talking a mile a minute. If you assist a teacher who is not a native speaker and would like you to speak at a normal speed, you can speed up slightly but a normal speed would not be appropriate for beginners. At the intermediate and advanced levels, you may speak more rapidly as their grasp on English increases and they can follow you better but it may still be challenging for them. When you do choral repetition or drill exercises, be sure to enunciate clearly and be loud enough for the entire class to hear you. It is often difficult for people to understand you, if your mouth is hidden from view which is odd because your students are supposed to be listening but even so, try to direct your attention towards your students, as opposed to the blackboard for instance, when you are talking to them and hold flashcards at an appropriate level. 3 4 HAVE FUN Language studies give students the opportunity to learn in a different way. English should not be taught the same way Mathematics or History is taught. There is no room for lectures because luckily as the teacher, you already know how to speak English while the students really need to practice more than anything else. Getting students to communicate with you and each other in a positive creative environment should be the goal of every language teacher. You can incorporate many different games into your lessons and with lots of miming and role plays students will probably laugh at you, in a good way, on more than one occasion. Taking the focus away from grammar rules and focusing on communication will encourage them to try their best, which is all you can really ask of them. PRACTICE Choose practice activities that are simple, easy to understand, and easy to explain. Using lots of words that students don’t recognize to explain how to do a practice activity is only going to further confuse them. In many cases a demonstration may be your best option. As your students improve, you can introduce more complex activities but if an activity ever takes longer to explain than to complete, it is not worth doing again. STUDENTS JUST BEGINNING THEIR ENGLISH STUDIES HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT TO EXPECT SO IT IS BENEFICIAL TO YOU AND ALL THEIR LATER ENGLISH TEACHERS TO HELP THEM ENJOY IT BY ENCOURAGING THEM AND SHOWING THEM THAT LEARNING ANOTHER LANGUAGE IS NOT AN OVERWHELMING TASK. Practice activities should revolve around students having the opportunity to speak English so even worksheets should be used for that purpose. After a worksheet has been completed, ask for volunteers to read the questions, translate the questions, and give the answers. Try to involve as many students as possible and give them continuous positive feedback. 17 15 Secrets to Teaching Adults TRADITIONALLY, THE IMAGE OF THE TEACHER HAS ALWAYS BEEN A STERN AUTHORITY FIGURE WITH A BLACKBOARD AND CHALK. ORDINARILY THEY PRESIDED OVER A CLASSROOM FULL OF KIDS. WITHIN THE ESL INDUSTRY, HOWEVER, THE CLIENTELE CAN RANGE FROM THREE YEARS OF AGE TO EIGHTY AND BEYOND! A lot of teachers will find they have to teach younger people however many more will also be teaching adults. This is obviously true with regards to those within the world of business English. Sometimes it can be a little tricky, particularly if those adults are a lot older than yourself. Many factors need to be taken into account, such as respect and making sure you do not patronize them however many people sometimes feel that they are doing this without meaning to. HOW TO Teach Adults: 15 Secrets 1 KEEP THE CLASS RELEVANT TO THE AGE GROUP It could be quite common, especially for younger English teachers, that most of their students will be older than them. As a result, it is important to keep the topic of the class relevant and be something that they will understand. Discussing aspects of modern youth culture might not appeal to those within the age bracket of fifty onwards. So it is always important to keep anything you talk about relevant so that the associated party will be more interested and in tune with what you have to say. 2 BE PASSIONATE Having an interest in your own subject is vitally important. No one will learn anything if the teacher doesn’t seem to care, and seems to just be giving the class rote-learning. Learning things by heart definitely does work in some cases, but a lot of the time when teaching language it is important to show an interest in it. Adults can tell immediately if you don’t have an interest in what is going on, 18 and they themselves will then be likely to switch off. 3 ENCOURAGE THEM TO ASK QUESTIONS A lot of the time, the people you will be teaching may not have been in school for many years. They might not be sure what proper classroom protocol is, so it is important to make sure that they ask as many questions as possible. When teaching the class, perhaps it would be a good idea to frequently tell them, “Now, does anyone have any questions?” If a student is unsure of this, then they will usually raise their hand and ask something. 4 KEEP THEM ENGAGED Keeping students engaged is important for any age group, and this is a vital skill that most teachers will learn over time. Sometimes one might be tempted to just focus on those who are participating, and leave more quieter ones to their own devices. Try and include everybody in the class equally, asking various questions more so to those who don’t speak as often. Simply standing at the board and listing off a load of information won’t help it to stick in their heads. 5 DISTRIBUTION Distributing practice is also another thing, closely tied in with the previous point. Make sure that everybody gets a chance to speak and practice their new skills. Sometimes, one student may be more talkative than the others and hence not give the rest of the class time to have their say. So it is important to come up with an idea or an activity whereby everyone can be involved, and therefore allow everyone to participate. 6 SMILE Smiling might seem like one of the most simplest things in the world, but it is quite easy to forget at times! Try to remember that the world of teaching has probably changed a lot since your students’ day, and therefore their own experiences of teachers might’ve been tough, stern people who never smiled. Showing a happy, pleasant face will definitely get the whole class more relaxed! 7 RECOGNIZE LEARNING STYLES Everybody has different ways of learning and adults are no different. Visual learners tend to be the most common, and so one should keep this in mind but also remember there may be other learning styles present. Do some research on these specific styles and see which ones your students will fit into. It will then be a lot easier to incorporate the techniques into the class. 8 BE FLEXIBLE Quite a lot of beginner teachers go into their first lesson with all of the purest intentions. They will have a plan written out, usually involving group work and the like, think that everything will go smoothly and accordingly. Sometimes, however, the class might veer off on a different path. Don’t panic if this happens, just remember that as long as you keep on topic in some form, the class is a success. At the end of the day, however, it is also important that the students are ultimately speaking English. 9 CORRECTION If the teacher is younger, then it can be quite daunting when a student makes a clear mistake. Often, they may simply ignore the mistake because they’re afraid of patronizing the student. Don’t be, just correct them in a way which sounds less patronizing. This usually involves something along the lines of, “That was a good sen- tence but... Can you think of a way of improving it?” It will encourage the student to examine their own grammar and make the correction themselves. 10 TOPICS OF INTEREST Oftentimes people will feel that they are getting nowhere when a student simply wants to speak about their job, or their cat, or even their wife! Since they usually are the ones paying for it, they will argue that they can have the right to do this. Naturally, this is true but it doesn’t mean that nothing can’t be learned from the class. If they want to talk incessantly about their pet, then simply incorporate that into the whole lesson. The more they talk, the better their English will become! 11 ENCOURAGEMENT Every student needs encouragement at some time or another, and more so than adult learners. The older they are the more reluctant they may seem. This can be a particular challenge so it is important to always make sure that they are on board with the topic of the lesson. 12 DEALING WITH TENSION Sometimes, particularly when teaching business English, one might find that they are teaching senior managers and secretaries. This unusual mix may cause a little bit of tension as the bosses may not feel comfortable at being at the same level. It is important to steer conversation away from anything that might be related to their current work, and to focus solely on the lesson to avoid conflict. 13 14 ELICITING WORDS Having the students think of or come up with their own words rather than simply telling them is important. In doing this, the students will find that they already know the vocabulary and just need to “let it out” so it to speak. 15 HAVE FUN! No one ever said that school and learning had to be boring, so it is important to make the class fun which will in turn engage the students a lot more. Think of various games and ideas which can be done that will get everyone involved. It will also help to loosen up the atmosphere a bit and get some of the more shy students talking! IT IS ALWAYS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER, AT THE END OF THE DAY, ADULT STUDENTS ARE NOT REALLY THAT DIFFERENT FROM YOUNGER ONES. They have more life experience and will be a lot more critical, perhaps even pick up on certain things faster, but they are still novices when it comes to English (for the most part) and you are there to teach them a new language. SPEAK ENGLISH This might seem like an obvious one but it is important to remember that, especially with those who are beginners, many might be tempted to slip into their native tongue and this can be detrimental. Often, students might start talking amongst themselves, usually if they’re simply asking for instructions. If this happens, inquire as to what they are talking about and see if they can say it in English. This will help them to learn some new vocabulary and the teacher won’t feel so isolated. 19 5 Strategies for Teaching the Beginning ESL Student There are a lot of advantages to teaching beginning ESL students: they are motivated learners not yet burned out on language study as students at a later level often are because it does take a long time and is oftentimes difficult. Beginning ESL students generally have deep respect for teachers and the learning process, often coming from cultures where these attitudes are still practiced and not having yet been exposed much to American attitudes, which are generally not so respectful. In addition, a beginning ESL class often has fun classroom activities such as songs, plays, and outings rather than dictations and research writing. And, let’s not forget to mention, beginning ESL students often give the teacher flowers at the end of the term, a practice common in many other countries. However, there is still that sinking feeling that sometimes comes in about the second week of the term when working with very beginning students, when the instructor realizes the students really know little beyond “hello,” “yes,” and “no.” Where do we even start? Vocabulary? Grammatical structures? Basic literacy skills? Help! There is help available. Teaching the beginning ESL student need not be a difficult and bewildering process if some basic principles are addressed. 5 STRATEGIES 1 ADDRESS BASIC CONVERSATIONAL NEEDS Traditional language instruction begins with teaching the alphabet, or numbers, or conjugating often-used verbs. It is, of course, difficult to take a needs assessment at this level, but we already know what beginning students really need is some basic greetings and farewells and other language for getting along in their communities, such as asking for directions or the costs of items. They don’t really need to conjugate the verb “to be,” although this may be taught in the context of introductions, for example: “I am Stacia, he is Gilliam.” The focus, however, should be on basic 20 conversation. Grammar should be taught in context of the conversational skills rather than as a focus on its own. Students should work in pairs or small groups much of the class period so that they can practice their English skills, preferably with speakers of languages other than their own, so that English is the common language the pair or group must use to communicate. 2 FOCUS ON LANGUAGE FOR COMMUNICATION Students don’t need to know how to recite numbers and colors in their second language. People rarely do that in their first languages, for that matter. What students do need to know is how to give their birthdates and identification numbers or ask for a specific color of item in a store. Continue to focus on communicative needs of students and contextualize language in teaching students short dialogues for places they will be visiting like the store, a restaurant, a library, and so on. 3 LANGUAGE FOR LIFE SKILLS Identify those language skills students will need to learn to survive in the community. What will they need to say in situations such as applying for a job, requesting a repair or refund on an appliance, looking for an apartment, visiting the doctor’s office, and so forth? When students have enough English, take a needs assessment, either oral or written, to find out which life skills are most important to them: looking for housing or talking to a doctor, for example? Have them practice dialogues in groups or pairs, and they may even perform short sketches in front of the class. 4 TRANSITION INTO ACADEMIC SKILLS Students will need to learn academic language in English, of course — how to read and write it and analyze its grammar. Begin working on these skills while students continue work on life skills: have students read short nonfiction or fiction pieces related to their in- terests, answer questions about them, and write responses. Give short lectures on important topics, such as the structure of the U.S. educational system, and have students take brief notes. 5 IDENTIFY SCHOOL AND CAREER GOALS Toward the end of the term, begin discussing with students various school/career options. Many students, of course, will already have identified such goals, but they may be less sure on how to go about accomplishing them as our educational system and its connections to the workplace can be a complex maze even to students born in this country. Begin by identifying several educational options locally: for example, the community college and state university and then go beyond that, as necessary. Also discuss several possible career paths that are available from studying at those institutions, and it is likely at least one or two students will be interested (like the dental assistant or nursing fields from studying at the local community college, for example). Find out what careers students are already interested in and discuss where they might get information on this field: a number of students have an interest in pharmacy, for example, and a nearby private college, University of the Pacific, has a recognized pharmacy department with several programs. You might consider having a school counselor or representative from a department of student interest come in to your class to talk about opportunities. No one said teaching beginning ESL would be easy. BUT WITH SOME PERSISTENCE, FOCUSING ON COMMUNICATION AND TRANSITIONING TO ACADEMIC SKILLS, THE TEACHER CAN TAKE HER CLASS FROM NOVICES TO STUDENTS READY TO BEGIN THE JOURNEY TOWARD THEIR ACADEMIC LIVES AND CAREERS!